1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shield connector including a connector housing in which a wire insertion inlet is closed by a rubber plug.
2. Description of the Related Art
As one example of the shield connectors of this type, there has been known a shield connector as disclosed in Japanese Patent unexamined Publication No. JP-A-Hei.10-144403. As shown in FIG. 5, this shield connector includes a cylindrical shield shell 2 inside a connector housing 1, and an end portion of a shielded electric wire 3 is contained at a position surrounded by the shield shell 2. A terminal metal 4 is fixed to the end portion of the shielded wire 3, and in addition, a conductive ring 5, a rubber plug 6 and a rubber plug holder 7 are inserted so as to cover the shielded wire 3. A shield layer 3A is clamped between the conductive ring 5 and an underlying ring 8 which is integrally formed with the conductive ring 5. A backward end of the conductive ring 5 is connected to the shield shell 2, an electric wire insertion inlet 1A of the connector housing 1 is covered with the rubber plug 6, and the rubber plug 6 is further retained by the rubber plug holder 7 so as not to drop out.
However, in the shield connector according to the related art as described above, the rubber plug holder 7 has been provided on purpose for retaining the rubber plug 6 so as not to drop out, and therefore, components have increased in number and assembling work has been annoying.
By the way, there have been some shield connectors in which the shield layer 3A is folded back over an outer coating 9 of the shielded wire 3, and the conductive ring is fixed to the folded shield layer 3A. However, in such a shield connector according to the related art, because the underlying ring (not shown) has been simply in a cylindrical shape, the underlying ring must be also inserted over the shielded wire 3 from its distal end next to the rubber plug 6, and the assembling work has been much more annoying.
The present invention has been made in view of the above described circumstances, and it is an object of the invention to provide a shield connector which is excellent in assembling ability as compared with the shield connector according to the related art.
In order to attain the above described object, there is provided according to a first aspect of the invention, a shield connector comprising:
a connector housing adapted to accommodate a distal end portion of a shielded electric wire provided with a metal terminal so as not to drop out;
a shield shell adapted to cover the metal terminal;
a connecting member adapted to electrically connect the shield shell to a shield layer of the shielded electric wire which is exposed from an outer coating of the shielded electric wire;
a rubber plug which is fitted to an intermediate portion of the shielded electric wire to close a wire insertion inlet formed in the connector housing through which the shielded electric wire is inserted; and
an underlying member formed of a metal plate curved in a U-shape, caulked and fixed to the outer coating of the shielded electric wire in a state where the outer coating is disposed inside the underlying member,
wherein the shield layer is folded back over the outer coating to dispose the underlying member between the shield layer and the outer coating so as to clamp the shield layer between the underlying member and the connecting member.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided A shield connector comprising:
a connector housing adapted to accommodate a distal end portion of a shielded electric wire provided with a metal terminal so as not to drop out;
a shield shell adapted to cover the terminal metal;
a connecting member adapted to electrically connect the shield shell to a shield layer of the shielded electric wire which is exposed from an outer coating of the shielded electric wire;
a rubber plug which is fitted to an intermediate portion of the shielded electric wire to close a wire insertion inlet formed in the connector housing through which the shielded electric wire is inserted; and
an underlying member having a first and second barrel portions formed of metal plate curved in a U-shape and is continuously formed along the shielded electric wire,
wherein the rubber plug has a small diametered portion extending from an end face of the rubber plug toward the underlying member;
the shield layer is folded back over the outer coating to dispose an underlying member between the shield layer and the outer coating so as to clamp the shield layer between the underlying member and the connecting member;
the first barrel portion is caulked and fixed to the outer coating, covered with the shield layer on the outside of the first barrel, and provided with the connecting member from the outside thereof,
the second barrel portion is caulked and fixed to the small diametered portion of the rubber plug.
According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided the shield connector according to any one of the first and second aspects of the invention, wherein the underlying member is formed with a locking projection projecting toward the outer coating of the shielded wire.
In the structure of the first aspect of the invention, because the underlying member has such a structure that the metal plate is curved in a U-shape, the underlying member can be attached to the shielded wire from a lateral side. Therefore, assembling ability of the underlying member increases as compared with the underlying ring, according to the related art, which has been in a cylindrical shape. Further, there will be no fear that the underlying member may move during assembling, since the underlying member has been fixed to the shielded wire by caulking.
In the shield connector according to the invention, the underlying member is fixed to the shielded wire by caulking the first barrel portion, and the rubber plug is fixed to the underlying member by caulking the second barrel portion to the small diametered portion of the rubber plug. As a result, the rubber plug is made immovable with respect to the shielded wire, and prevented from dropping out from the wire insertion inlet. With this structure, the rubber plug holder which has been conventionally required is unnecessary to attain reduction of the components in number, and the assembling workability is improved.
Because the underlying member is formed with the locking projection which projects so as to bite the outer coating of the shielded wire, the underlying member can be more reliably fixed to the shielded wire.